Improvement in vehicle-hubs



U NITEn STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN E. HARRINGTON, OF MILLBURY, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE`v HALFHIS RIGHT TO OHAUNOEY MORSE, OF SAME PLAGE.

IMPROVEMENT IN VEHlCL'E-HUBS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 149,394, dated April 7,1874; application led December 3l, 1873.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, JOHN E. HARRINGTON, ofMillbury, in the county of IVorcester, State of Massachusetts, haveinvented an Improved Hub for Carriage-Wheels, of which the following isa specication:

My invention relates to the construction of a hub, in which the commoniron box may be used and set after the wheel is made, and is designed tofacilitate the setting and enable them to be reset or the wheel trued asoften as desired, besides forming a rm, solid body or single piece, inwhich the spokes are securely held.

Its nature consists in forming a metal shell or outside of the hub ofone piece, in such form as to provide sockets for the spokes which holdthe sides of said spokes, and support them from the outer part of thehub down to, or nearly to, the box inserted-that is, supports themagainst side strain of the wheel-the other sides of the socketsormortises being formed by wedge-shaped webs connecting the othersbetween eaeh spoke,7 in such form that the inner ends of the spokes cometogether and fill the whole space, wedging. one another, and forming acontinuous body of wood round the box, and giving an opportunity to gluethe inner ends of the spokes to each other, if desired, theends of theshell on each side of this iniddle portion or spoke-socket being made soas to admit a wood body or plug between the box and the shell, so as toadmit wedges to be used to t or true the box in the hub and wheel.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side view of a hub embodyingmy invention, the lower half being shown in section, showing the woodlling used in each end.

- Fig. 2 is a plan of the socket and spokes, or

a cross-section through the center of the hub, with the butts of thespokes in place.

Ais the shell; B B', vthe wood ends; O, the box; D, the spoke; E E, thesocket-plates;

extend down or in nearly to the box O, as shown at e, and form thesockets or mortises for the spokes, giving them rm support to theirends. The webs G G between each spoke extend in suiciently .to form amortise for each spoke, similar to those in common wooden hubs, andthese' are so calculated that the ends of the spokes shall fill thecircle when driven in close, or nearly so, to the box. The end Iillin gsB B are made of wellseasoned wood, and driven into the casting or shellfrom each end. The shell A entirely covering the wood enables me towedge freely, if needed, when setting the box after the wheel is madeand tire set; and if the resetting of the tire should spring the wheel,as sometimes happens, it can be trued, as at first, and the box can beretightened if from any cause it should become loose.

I am aware that hubs have been made with a shell with wood endsinserted, and sockets formed by webs and lan ges for wedge-shapedseparate spokes. These I do not claim, as they do not have the samequality as mine, which is an improvement on them in providing for theinner ends of the spokes to be larger and come together, to be glued, ifdesired and make part of the wood core in which the box is set.

. I claim-- A vehicle-hub consisting of the shell A, having sockets forthe spokes D, formed by the webs G G and flanges E E', in such inannerthat the inner ends of the spokes come together and wedge each other,the wood fillings B B, inserted in each end of the shell, forming a woodcore, in which the box for the axle is set, all combined as set forth.

JOHN E. HARRINGTON.

G G G, the connecting-webs. The plates E E

